The Varanidae are a family of lizards in the superfamily Varanoidea and order Anguimorpha. The family, a group of carnivorous and frugivorous lizards, includes the living genus Varanus and a number of extinct genera more closely related to Varanus than to the earless monitor lizard (Lanthanotus). Varanus includes the Komodo dragon, crocodile monitor, savannah monitor, the goannas of Australia and Southeast Asia, and various other species with a similarly distinctive appearance. Their closest living relatives are the earless monitor lizard and chinese crocodile lizard. The oldest members of the family are known from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia.
Monitor lizards are lizards in the genus Varanus, the only extant genus in the family Varanidae. They are native to Africa, Asia, and Oceania, and one species is also found in the Americas as an invasive species. About 80 species are recognized.
The perentie is the largest monitor lizard or goanna native to Australia. It is one of the largest living lizards on earth, after the Komodo dragon, Asian water monitor, and the Crocodile monitor. Found west of the Great Dividing Range in the arid areas of Australia, it is rarely seen, because of its shyness and the remoteness of much of its range from human habitation. The species is considered to be a least-concern species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The sand goanna, also known commonly as Gould's monitor, the racehorse goanna, and the sand monitor, is a species of large Australian monitor lizard in the family Varanidae.
The black tree monitor or Beccari's monitor is a species of lizard in the family Varanidae. The species is a relatively small member of the family, growing to about 90–120 cm (35–47 in) in total length. V. beccarii is endemic to the Aru Islands off New Guinea, living in an arboreal habitat. The skin color of adults is completely black, to which one common name refers.
Varanus timorensis, the Timor monitor or spotted tree monitor, is a species of small monitor lizards native to the island of Timor and some adjacent islands.
The emerald tree monitor or green tree monitor, is a small to medium-sized arboreal monitor lizard. It is known for its unusual coloration, which consists of shades from green to turquoise, topped with dark, transversedorsal banding. This coloration helps camouflage it in its arboreal habitat. Its color also makes the emerald tree monitor highly prized in both the pet trade and zoos alike.
The yellow-spotted monitor, also known as the Argus monitor, is a monitor lizard found in northern and western regions of Australia and southern New Guinea.
The spiny-tailed monitor, also known as the Australian spiny-tailed monitor, the ridge-tailed monitor the Ackie's dwarf monitor, and colloquially simply ackie monitor, is an Australian species of lizard belonging to the genus of monitor lizards (Varanus).
The peacock monitor, also known commonly as Auffenberg's monitor, is a species of small monitor lizard in the family Varanidae. The species, which belongs to the subgenus Odatria, is endemic to Rote Island, Indonesia.
The golden-spotted tree monitor, also known commonly as the golden speckled tree monitor, is a species of monitor lizard in the family Varanidae. The species is endemic to Waigeo Island in Indonesia.
The Rosenberg's monitor is an Australian species of varanid reptile found in southern regions of the continent. They are large and fast predators with rugged bodies and long tails, having a combined length up to 1.5 metres, that will consume any smaller animal that is pursued and captured or found while foraging. They occur in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, where it may be rare or locally common, and more frequently observed in Western Australia, where it is sometimes abundant.
The turquoise monitor is a species of monitor lizards found in Indonesia. Specifically, it is found on Halmahera Island and in the Maluku Islands.
The Northern Sierra Madre forest monitor, also known by the local names bitatawa, baritatawa, and butikaw, is a large, arboreal, frugivorous lizard of the genus Varanus. The lizard is a distinctive food of the Aeta and Ilongot indigenous people of the Philippines.
The blue-tailed monitor, blue-tailed tree monitor or Kalabeck's monitor, is a monitor lizard of the Varanidae family. It belongs to the V. doreanus group of the subgenus Euprepiosaurus.
Varanus keithhornei, commonly known as the canopy goanna, Keith Horne's monitor, blue-nosed tree monitor, or Nesbit River monitor, is a species of monitor lizards native to northeast Australia. It is a member of the Varanus prasinus species group.
Varanus kordensis, the Biak tree monitor, is a member of the Varanidae family found on Biak Island in Indonesia. It is also known as the Kordo tree monitor. Long considered a subspecies of the emerald tree monitor, most authorities now treat it as a separate species.
Varanus macraei, the blue-spotted tree monitor or blue tree monitor, is a species of monitor lizard found on the island of Batanta in Indonesia. It is named after herpetologist Duncan R. MacRae, founder of the reptile park Rimba on Bali.
Odatria, commonly known as dwarf monitors, consists of small monitor lizards found in Australia and Indonesia. Species in this subgenus include the smallest monitor species in the world, the tiny 16 gram Dampier Peninsula monitor, but also includes some more medium sized species such as the 240 gram black-palmed rock monitor.
Varanus, commonly known as true monitors, is one of the 11 subgenera of the genus Varanus. Its exant species are native to Southeast Asia and Australia, among which are the World's largest lizards.
